The Daily: Worldcoin eyes Facebook-like scale, EigenLayer plans new token distributions, Trump extends lead on Polymarket and more

Happy Thursday! In today's Daily, EigenLayer plans to distribute 86 million EIGEN tokens to stakeholders, Worldcoin WLD -4.29% eyes Facebook-like scale, Robinhood settles with the California DOJ and more.

Let's get started.

EigenLayer's latest token distribution plans

EigenLayer announced plans to distribute 86 million EIGEN tokens to stakeholders via its season 2 "stakedrop," representing about 5% of its fully diluted supply of 1.67 billion tokens.

• The distribution will benefit various participants, including stakers, node operators, ecosystem partners and community members active between March 15 and Aug. 15.
• EigenLayer is a platform that lets users deposit and stake ether, aiming to allocate those funds to secure third-party networks or actively validated services (AVSs).
• Of the total, 70 million tokens will go to stakers and active node operators, with allocations based on their share of ether staked.
• Up to 10 million EIGEN tokens are set aside for AVSs, rollups, liquid restaking protocols, rollup-as-a-service providers and other contributors to the EigenLayer ecosystem.
• The remaining 6 million EIGEN tokens will be reserved for community members, including open-source contributors and early advocates, who must verify their social identities by Sept. 11.
• Eligible stakeholders will be able to claim their tokens from Sept. 17.
• EigenLayer's total value locked has dropped from an all-time high of $20.1 billion in June to $11.5 billion, reflecting similar trends across the liquid restaking sector and a broader crypto market decline.
• While EIGEN tokens are not yet tradable, pre-markets such as Hyperliquid value each token at roughly $2.70, giving EigenLayer a theoretical fully diluted valuation of $4.5 billion.

Worldcoin eyes Facebook-like scale

Worldcoin aims to achieve global scale by mass-distributing its eyeball-scanning "Orbs" to verify users and increase utility, Alex Blania, CEO of core developer Tools for Humanity, said at Korea Blockchain Week.

• "I think fundamentally, similar to other networks that we have seen emerge over the last couple of decades like PayPal or even social networks like Facebook, they only become useful once they are at scale," he added.
• Worldcoin claims to have more than 6.5 million verified users in over 160 countries, using iris scans to issue "World IDs" as proof of humanness in exchange for WLD tokens, with the vision of protecting people from potential negative impacts from AI.
• The project is also set to announce "exciting updates" regarding the next generation of its Orb device, which is expected in the coming weeks, Blania said.

Robinhood settles with California DOJ over crypto withdrawal restrictions

Robinhood's crypto arm has agreed to pay a $3.9 million penalty to the California DOJ over restricting crypto withdrawals on its platform from 2018 to 2022.

• The settlement resolves an investigation that found users were misled and forced to sell their crypto back to Robinhood to exit the platform instead of being allowed to withdraw their assets.
• Robinhood is now required to ensure customers can withdraw their crypto assets and clarify that the platform will custody crypto and may delay settlement with trading venues.
• Despite the penalty, Robinhood continues to expand in the crypto space, including its planned acquisition of crypto exchange Bitstamp in a potential $200 million deal, set to close in 2025.

Skyscanner integrates with Travala, enabling hotel bookings in over 100 cryptocurrencies

Global travel marketplace Skyscanner has integrated with BNB Chain-based travel platform Travala to offer hotel bookings in over 100 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ether and Travala's native token AVA.

• The integration means Travala's inventory of 2.2 million hotels across 230 countries is now available to Skyscanner's 110 million users, discoverable alongside leading travel agencies such as Expedia and Booking.com.
• "We're making travel planning more accessible and flexible for the growing number of travelers who prefer alternative payment methods," Skyscanner Head of Hotels Sanja Vukik said.
• Travala users booking through Skyscanner can earn rewards via its AVA Smart Program, including discounts, up to 10% back in bitcoin and other web3 incentives.

Trump extends lead over Harris on Polymarket to seven percentage points

Donald Trump has extended his lead over Kamala Harris to seven percentage points on the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket, the largest gap since Aug. 22.

• Republican Trump now has a 53% chance of winning the U.S. presidential election compared to Democrat Harris' 46%, according to the platform, reversing Harris' earlier lead after she replaced President Joe Biden as the party's candidate.
• However, Polymarket's odds contrast sharply with national polling averages that show Harris ahead, with 47% to Trump's 44%, according to analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein.

In the next 24 hours

Eurozone GDP figures are released at 5 a.m. ET on Friday. U.S. nonfarm payrolls follow at 8:30 a.m.

• U.S. FOMC member John Williams will speak at 8:45 a.m.
• Korea Blockchain Week and ETH -3.38% Warsaw 2024 continue as the AI Crypto Summit concludes.

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